Veronika Voss
Veronika Voss (German: Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss, "The Longing of Veronika Voss") is a black-and-white 1982 film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. This, Fassbinder's penultimate film, is the second film of his BRD Trilogy, coming between The Marriage of Maria Braun and Lola. It is also the last film released during Fassbinder's lifetime. Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Comment 3 Cast 4 Reception and Awards 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Synopsis The film is loosely based on the career of actress Sybille Schmitz and is influenced by Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard. Munich, 1955. Veronika Voss is a formerly popular UFA film star who is now struggling to get roles. She meets a sports reporter named Robert Krohn and is impressed that he does not know who she is. The two begin a love affair, even though Robert already lives with his girlfriend Henriette, who nevertheless realizes that Veronika has an irresistible allure. Veronika’s behavior is erratic and sometimes desperate, and as Robert delves into her life he discovers that she is essentially a captive to a corrupt neurologist named Dr. Marianne Katz. Dr. Katz keeps Veronika addicted to opiates and uses her power to give or deny drugs as a means to bleed the actress of her wealth. To verify his suspicions, Robert has Henriette approach Dr. Katz and pretend to be a rich woman in need of psychiatric care. Dr. Katz writes Henriette a prescription for an opiate but afterward witnesses her making a phone call in the street outside the office. Dr. Katz then has Henriette killed and with Veronika's help covers up the crime when Robert arrives with the police. The film ends tragically as Dr. Katz and her cohorts have Veronika sign over all that she owns and give her a fatal dose of pills. After Veronika’s death, Robert observes the villains celebrating their victory and is unable to do a thing. Comment Fassbinder has a cameo role in the beginning of the film sitting behind Voss in a movie theatre and watching her old movie. Lilo Pempeit (also Liselotte Eder), who plays the manager of a jewelry store, was Fassbinder's mother. Günther Kaufmann, one of Fassbinder's former lovers, plays in all three films of the cycle. In this one he is an enigmatic African-American G.I. Juliane Lorenz, seen in the brief role of a secretary, was a close associate of Fassbinder and the editor of this film; she became the chief executive of Fassbinder's estate, the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation, in 1992. Lorenz spotted an article in Die Zeit about Schmitz's legal case and drew it to Fassbinder's attention.1 Cast Rosel Zech as Veronika Voss Hilmar Thate as Robert Krohn Cornelia Froboess as Henriette Annemarie Düringer as Dr. Marianne Katz Armin Mueller-Stahl as Max Rehbein Doris Schade as Josefa Erik Schumann as Dr. Edel Peter Berling as Film producer Günther Kaufmann as G.I. Sonja Neudorfer as Saleswoman Lilo Pempeit as Chefin Volker Spengler as Film director #1 Herbert Steinmetz as Gardner Elisabeth Volkmann as Grete Hans Wyprächtiger as Editor-in-chief Peter Zadek as Film director #2 Johanna Hofer and Rudolf Platte as the old married couple Juliane Lorenz as a secretary Reception and Awards The film was entered into the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Bear.2 Roger Ebert added the film to his Great Movies collection.3 See also List of German language films List of recent films in black-and-white References 1.Jump up ^ Rosel Zech and Juliane Lorenz interview in 2003 for the Criterion Collection DVD of the film. Also contained in the Artificial Eye Region 2 edition. 2.Jump up ^ "Berlinale: 1982 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2010-11-14. 3.Jump up ^ "Veronika Voss :: rogerebert.com :: Great Movies". Retrieved 2013-01-08. External links Veronika Voss at the Internet Movie Database Veronika Voss at AllMovie Lost Film Comments: Review Criterion Collection Essay by Michael Töteberg Category:German-language films Category:1982 films Category:1980s drama films Category:West German films Category:German drama films Category:German black-and-white films Category:Art films Category:Films directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder Category:Adultery in films Category:Films about psychiatry Category:Films about drugs Category:Films about race and ethnicity Category:Golden Bear winners Category:Films set in Germany Category:Films set in Munich Category:Films set in 1955